Lo

"We're fighting for... adventure!" -Lo along with Shania, in My Gift To You

Lo (full name Lo Higgins), is a young adventurer who is very passionate about adventure. He is intrigued by danger and adrenaline, and someday wishes to go down in history as the greatest adventurer who ever lived.

Birth
Lo was born to ordinary mother Calo Higgins and adventurer Simon Sails in Wolksburg, New Redon on an unknown date.

Pre-Squiggle
At a young age, Lo was left behind on his home island by his father, Simon Sails, who set off for adventure and never returned. This left them barely having enough money to not be in poverty.

More importantly, this left a lasting impact on Lo and his mother, giving Calo abandonment issues and planting the first seed of doubt in the young Lo's mind, and giving him trust issues along with abandoned child syndrome. This culminated into what most would call a passion... although it could also be seen as an unhealthy obsession or addiction to the feeling adventure gives you. Adrenaline.

This resulted in him not being able to be satisfied until he became the penultimate adventurer, second in his mind only to his father, Simon.

Possession by Doubt
When Lo was 2, a Hostless parasitic, fungus-like imp by the name of Doubt stumbled across Lo in his quest for a host to take it in, and take care of it. Passing Doubt's suffering unto itself, and growing Doubt up into a Deity through its suffering. With Doubt's limited power at the time, this could only be done with someone who was at their lowest point, and weak enough in mind to be susceptible to lowly demonic or spiritual possession.

When Doubt possessed Lo secretly, it found him to be the perfect host. Young, unintelligent, naive, and already full of doubt (the mindset). So, Doubt stayed with Lo, feeding off of his suffering while also creating new problems purely in his head, such as irrational worries and nightmares. Only one thing would be able to keep Doubt at bay from becoming too powerful...

Meeting with Squiggle
One day soon after Doubt possessed Lo, Lo was on one of his earliest adventures, when he stumbled across a town on the other side of the Blackberry Forest near Wolksburg, his home town. There, he met and befriended another young boy named Squiggle. They befriended each other instantly, and their friendship lasted a long time into Lo's tween years.

Adventures with Squiggle
Lo and Squiggle went on kazillions of adventures together, Squiggle often following Lo's lead and just being along for the ride. Some of their referenced adventurers prior to My Gift To You were when they chased down a millionaire's runaway piggy bank, and when they saved an entire island from annihilation by an eldritch deity...

Squiggle's Death
When the beast trying to destroy the island exploded upon its defeat, Squiggle was launched over a cliff overlooking a long drop into a rapid river. Lo caught his hand, but was slowly dragged down with him. He wouldn't let go, out of fear of being left behind by one of the only people left in his life. Before he could fall too, Squiggle let go, sacrificing himself to save Lo's life. Lo returned home that night to Wolksburg, New Redon. When his mother asked how his adventure went, Lo held up the only thing the villagers they saved could find of Squiggle. His hat that matched with Lo's.

Post Squiggle's Death
After Squiggle's death, Lo fabricated a fantasy in his head where Squiggle was "as small as a teddy bear", a fantasy where he was able to pull him away from the ledge with ease. Squiggle's spirit was bound to him by their great friendship, not able to pass on to the Afterlife until he told Lo the truth. However, he didn't tell Lo for years, out of fear that the truth would break his dear best friend further. Lo took the reluctant, tiny Squiggle on many more adventures, however, Squiggle had lost the ability to speak until he told Lo the truth, which didn't bother Lo one bit on account of Squiggle hardly ever speaking to begin with. But now Squiggle was physically only limited to grunts, noises, and limited gestures due to his new lack of fingers. This continued up to an undersea adventure where they found a map to and describing an unknown island with a treasure at the Eastside of it, the island of Reefance...

My Gift To You
Upon Lo arriving at the island of Reefance with Squiggle after finishing his chores for the day, Doubt found an opportunity due to his knowledge of the true nature of the island, and began to feed off the island's negative aura with every step Lo took on its soil, to reach maximum strength. However, there wasn't any time for Lo to consider the negative thoughts in his mind, because of all the action happening at every second. This is where Lo met his mother's secret alter ego, "Winimum Mage". She reluctantly taunted his adventuring morals and end goal, in hopes he would go home and not have to face Lord Ommin.

However, Lo persisted. He trekked through The Nile, fighting many monsters and eventually reaching the town of Victoriaville. He met Sonja Olive once he entered the Olive Inn, and made his first acquaintance on this specific journey. She set him and Squiggle up with a room, and the next morning, she stopped him at the exit. She introduced him to Shania Olive, her little sister. Shania wanted to join his adventure. Lo hesitantly set up an interview, and lost his temper due to Shania's perfect score on all the questions and conditions he threw her way. He regained confidence though, and accepted Shania onto his adventurer group.

It was when they were walking in town on their way to the train to the next region, that they crossed paths with Lord Ommin, who Lo did not know was actually his father, Simon Sails. Winimum had told him that Ommin was the leader of a treasure hunter pirate legion (which she was head of the dark arts division of). He immediately confronted Ommin over the Nefarious Gentleman haranging a tourist assistant, and also for him being a treasure hunter with no sense of the importance of adventure. Ommin, in response, made fun of Lo in a way that was akin to how Winimum had. It distracted Lo to the point where he almost missed the train. He managed to catch it at the last second, with Ommin being flung into the distance by one of his cronies missing a shot.

Aboard the train, Lo realized he didn't give the conductor his tickets. On cue, Donna Doll, the conductor's assistant, entered the train car and searched for a "sinner" and a "thief" who failed to bring tickets. How she knew the perpetrators were in the car, but not know it was Lo, Squiggle, and Shania, is unknown. But it can be chalked up to her almost paranormal intuition. She scanned the room, and eventually found Lo. She knew from his demeanor that it was him. She tried to attack him, but Shania and Squiggle tackled her. Lo and the others were able to climb out a panel to the roof of the train, where they ran away atop train cars with Donna shooting at them with a cork gun. She managed to hit Lo's hat, which knocked it off his head. Squiggle along with it. However, Lo was able to grab Squiggle and his hat before they went flying off the train car. He almost fell himself, but Shania caught him and pulled him up. When they arrived at the conductor's car, they tried to explain, but the conductor kicked them all out as soon as he stopped the train. Donna lied her way out of suspicion, and they were forced to walk to the next region, Angor. They met with Ommin, who pleaded to join them in their adventuring ways.

On the way to Brimdome, the only place safe from the Firestorms of Angor, Ommin annoyed Lo to no end. This reached its boiling point with Ommin calling Lo poor, and saying Lo wasn't raised by his parents to value himself enough. Lo got angry at this jab, taking offense not only as an insult to himself, but to his mother and the "great" Simon Sails. Lo still did not know Ommin and Simon were the same person. Lo explained that he only wants the treasure to help out the generally poor population of New Redon, not just himself.

Before he can finish chewing out Ommin, though, volcanic rock started pouring from the nearby volcanoes. Ommin called over his goons, who quickly arrived and saved Lo's life. They were allowed to disband when the downpour ended. However, Lo had lost his place on the map. He and the others wandered around directionlessly, before Ommin called Winimum Mage to create a portal to Brimdome. Lo debated with Ommin, and moreover himself, on whether or not to go through the portal, deeming it as un-adventurery. However, he was forced to out of his own concern for Squiggle. Just before a Firestorm swept through the area.

Lo was dismayed to find the portal was actually to Brimdome's sewer system, and not the domed city above. He thought about how great it would be to be up in the town. Lo talked to Squiggle about how wild of a ride the adventure had been so far, before Doubt manifested itself as a shadow of Lo in the dark and due to Lo's doubtful state of mind. It attacked Lo, out of an evil that had developed over the years. Ommin, Shania, and Winimum all sprang to his aid. After realizing the shadow form couldn't be fought, they escaped to the surface, where Doubt followed but was burned in its weak form by the Firestorm's light.

Lo found a cheap hotel in Brimdome, and opted to spend the night there with his friends in different rooms. He was concerned about his mother not returning his calls for the previous two nights. Due to this conern, Doubt was able to manifest in the dark once more. Lo opted to call it Shadow Lo, and it seemed uninterested in attacking. Instead, it led Lo to the basement of the hotel, where Donna was found. Lo hid away as Donna explained to two plaid suit men that they would be paid if they were able to find and destroy or apprehend Lo, along with his party. After she left, Lo made a mad dash to his friends' room, waking them all up and explaining the situation. Again, he was left with no choice but to go through another one of Winimum's portals. This one led to Bugganin, the next region. However, it wasn't seeming like that bad of a thing at this point due to Ommin's subtle manipulative tactics.

Lo spent some time in a tavern, drinking apple juice with Squiggle and his new friends, until the plaid suit men arrived in search of everyone in the party excluding Ommin and Winimum, on account of Donna never seeing them. They hid away, and were able to escape due to Ommin's goons being called, not getting the memo from Ommin to impede the search, and then ending up impeding the search anyways out of sheer incompetence.

Lo, Squiggle and Shania escaped in a stolen car, and Lo was surprised by the modernity of the city that covered all of Bugganin. But when Shania suggested that using a vehicle when one wasn't needed was cheating and more like a treasure hunter than an adventurer, Lo almost automatically replied that maybe treasure hunting wasn't so bad. This made Shania so furious, she attacked Lo and caused him to crash the car on accident.

Lo had a horrible dream, where he found the car wreck ablaze. Doubt appeared once more in the fire, and when he mentioned that neither Shania or Squiggle survived, Lo immediately asked where Squiggle was. Doubt did nothing but point at the raging rapids under the bridge. When Lo woke up, he found Squiggle and Shania alive and well. However, Shania left the party out of frustration with Lo's prior statements to go on her own adventure. Lo sadly let her walk off, before saying to Squiggle that they didn't need her, and that they'd get the treasure on their own before her. Lo then declared that he no longer cared for adventure, and that from now on, he and Squiggle were treasure hunters.

Eventually, they entered a casino. When they stopped to get food, Ommin appeared with the Plaid Suit Men. Ommin explained that he had double-crossed Lo for the sake of getting the reward on his arrest, much to Lo's indignation. Lo, in disbelief that he had become just like this man that was now betraying him, snapped at him. Ommin seemed to react to this in sorrow. Before he could apologize, the Plaid Suit Men pulled a lever that slid the floor out from under where Lo was sitting. He and Squiggle were therefore banished to The Pression, a prison underneath Bugganin, and the fourth region.

Doubt visited Lo once more in his new cell, explaining to him how Doubt had possessed him. Doubt told him that it would be the only thing to never leave him, for the rest of his life. When Doubt dissipated back into Lo's mind, Lo noticed Squiggle hadn't left, despite him being small enough to fit through the widely-spaced bars. When he argued the point Doubt had made about being the only thing to never leave him, saying Squiggle also wouldn't ever leave, Squiggle only gave him an unreadable stare.

A now defeated Lo was forced to make newspapers by The Warden, a goblin who watched over The Pression and its prisoners atop a horrifying beast named Dolan. Eventually, he was sent back to his cell, where his mom appeared in her true form. She explained everything she had been hiding from him, from her being Winimum, to Ommin being Lo's father. Lo couldn't believe it, but he decided he forgave his father and still loved him deep down. His mother apologized for not being able to raise him the way he deserved, but Lo assured her everything was okay. Together, they broke out of the cell with one of her portals, and headed towards the exit to the Gold Haven, the Eastside region of the island.

They were chased down by Donna Doll, who was making her way to interrogate Lo and make him confess his "sin". She tried shooting at them with a brand new laser gun, but never landed a shot. They managed to escape her, but were stopped at the exit by The Warden and Dolan. They were able to knock The Warden off of Dolan, who fled the room after losing control over the beast. They then tamed Dolan, by simply petting him. Due to Lo and Squiggle being the only people to show him kindness after abuse from The Warden, Dolan attacked Donna as soon as she arrived with Lo at gunpoint, who went rocketing into the sky after one headbutt from Dolan. Aboard Dolan, Lo and Squiggle were able to continue through the exit with Lo's mother following on her magic broom.

Once in the Gold Haven, they eventually arrived at the barrier surrounding the treasure horde. However, Shania and Ommin were closing in as well. They all arrived at the barrier, but were launched backwards by a sudden blast. The barrier had not accepted any of them. Lo's mother chose to explain. She had read a book about the treasure, and the barrier surrounding it. It was no ordinary barrier, as it did not open for the true adventurer spirit. Rather, it opened for someone who had lost something or someone important to them and then managed to live with the fact. She explained that all of the regions except the Gold Haven had names derived from the five stages of grief. And that people denying grief were destined to find the island, and were forced to undergo five trials that sent them through the grieving process through the corresponding regions. When Lo questioned why he was here, stating that he had "a good parent, and a good friend", Squiggle stepped forward, and told him the truth about Squiggle's passing.

When Squiggle departed for the Afterlife, his duty fulfilled, Lo completely broke down. He could do nothing but cry out for Squiggle until his throat hurt and his voice became but a quiet rasp. Shania and Ommin put aside their rivalry with Lo in his time of need. Lo being far past his breaking point, Doubt was able to split from Lo. Doubt talked down to Lo, explaining how he was no longer tied to reiterating what Lo already thought, and was now at a point where he was a separate being altogether. He insulted Squiggle, threatened to kill Lo should Lo get in his way. When Lo's friends attempted to step in, they were quickly defeated and held hostage by Doubt. Doubt gave Lo and ultimatum, stating he would spare Lo and his friends if Lo ran away and never returned. Doubt, now a gigantic towering Deity at full power, bearing no resemblance to Lo, would spread across the world like a fungal network. He would claim every semblance of happiness in everyone across the globe, replacing it with Doubt and depression. Should Lo try to fight, he would be swiftly killed along with everyone he loved. So Lo fled. As Doubt began to bring upon the end of the world.

Lo traveled backwards through the island of Reefance, coming across everyone he met on his adventure. They had all fallen under the curse Doubt spread across the island. When he arrived at his plane, he was stopped by his friends, who explained they were able to keep their fighting spirit by being inspired by Lo. Lo, regaining hope due to his friend and family's words, decided to take his last opportunity to defeat Doubt.

When he reached Doubt, he climbed up the towering beast and eventually defeated it once he attacked the head. He was transported to some kind of pocket dimension, where he was able to reclaim Doubt to avoid it taking over the world.

A few days later, Lo traveled to the treasure and was able to find the shining light of Acceptance.

In the second epilogue, he is shown questioning why Shania must go home, to which she replies "a family emergency". After she leaves, Ommin appears and they talk about another island Ommin found. Lo hesitates before accepting an offer to join on the future voyage. And so, he enjoys a good night's rest once more.

Shania Olive
Lo and Shania Olive have been best friends ever since their final battle with Doubt. At first, Lo was hesitant to accept her as even a travel buddy, but their friendship grew throughout the events of My Gift To You. After the car crash, Shania may have declared herself Lo's rival, but this was ultimately called off when she witnessed his breakdown over losing Squiggle. To this day they remain best friends.

Squiggle
Lo and Squiggle were childhood best friends, and Squiggle was always his only real friend all the way up to Squiggles' departure for the afterlife. They had gone on many adventures together before this, but looking back on them only brings Lo pain. Lo feels a little betrayed by Squiggle leaving, but he understands that he couldn't tie Squiggle down forever.

Calo Higgins
Lo is the son of Calo Higgins. With Calo being the only parent there for much of Lo's childhood, they share a very important bond. However much Lo loves his mother, he can often be seen being embarrassed by her overbearing affectionateness. He is very independent from her, which is hard for Calo because she worries that someday he might leave just like Simon Sails, his father, did. As Winimum Mage, she attempts a tough love approach by making rude remarks and heckling him. Almost everything she does is done for Lo.

Lord Ommin
Lord Ommin, AKA Simon Sails, is Lo's father. They used to be rivals, but have since become allies. They still share a very complicated bond, due to Ommin's prior abandonment of Lo and Calo. Lo respects and looks up to who Ommin used to be, but is annoyed and disappointed in the person he turned out to be. Lo treats Ommin kindly, and despite Ommin's selfishness, Ommin does have a special place in his heart for Lo. Overall, there's still a lot that needs fixing about their father-son relationship.

Dolan
Dolan is Lo's loyal pet and steed, and has been ever since he tamed him in The Pression.

Sonja Olive
Lo and Sonja are acquaintances. Lo is shown hospitality by Sonja, she even gives him free food, even if it was just to keep him around long enough so she could avoid having to deal with Shania's imminent temper tantrum. However, when Doubt took over, Sonja pushed him away, showing she does not trust him enough for him to see her at her lowest.

Donna Doll
Lo and Donna used to be enemies, but now they are on good terms. Lo still secretly thinks that she's scary, though.

The Warden
Lo and The Warden used to be enemies, but after Lo's sentence was served in The Pression, they managed to get on good terms.

Red and Green
Lo and the plaid suit men used to be enemies, with Red and Green trying to arrest Lo under orders from Donna Doll. However, they are now friends. Red and Green even drive Lo to the treasure at the end of My Gift To You.

Trivia

 * Although never mentioned in the book, Lo's first name is canonically short for "Lo-Fi", in reference to the musical genre.
 * This follows the trend of many of the author's characters having puns or deeper meanings in their names.
 * Going further with this trend, his last name, Higgins, is derived from a byname meaning "Viking". This fits, because Lo is often depicted going overseas towards his next adventure, albeit in a plane and not in a Viking ship.
 * It is very likely that Lo's parents, Calo Higgins and Lord Ommin, were never married.